Content Management System (CMS) Case Studies

In our article What is a Content Management System? Choosing the Right Technology for Your Website, we explained what a CMS is, its benefits, the different types available, and in which scenarios each type works best.

In this article, we share case studies from DoganTech that demonstrate how selecting the right CMS can significantly impact performance, cost, scalability and ease of use. In some cases, you’ll even see that what was considered correct back then is no longer feasible today and requires change due to rapid technological shifts, new opportunities, or sometimes simply because business decisions have changed, making previous approaches no longer viable.

Quick Recap on CMS (Content Management System)

Before diving into the case studies, let us briefly recap what a Content Management System is and why it matters.

A CMS (Content Management System) is software that enables businesses to create, manage and publish website content without building everything from scratch each time. It provides a structured way to control pages, blogs, media, products and other digital assets. CMS solutions generally fall into three categories: traditional, headless and bespoke.

The right choice depends on your business goals, how frequently you update content, your integration requirements, your growth ambitions and your available budget. While CMS platforms offer convenience and flexibility, they also introduce operational considerations such as hosting, licensing, performance and maintenance. The key is not just deciding to use a CMS, but choosing one whose structure and capabilities truly meet your business needs.

Case Study #1 – Media Company Migrating from Drupal to Bespoke CMS

We worked with a media company whose website had been built on Drupal more than seven or eight years ago by another vendor. Over time, the website evolved into a much larger product.

The legacy user interface, lagging performance, difficulty updating content, challenges embedding new features, increasing hosting costs and rising licence fees for additional off the shelf functionality all became major constraints. The business reached a point where the existing CMS architecture was no longer commercially viable.

As DoganTech, we designed and built a fully bespoke website with a bespoke CMS and migrated all existing Drupal data into the new system.

The new platform replicated and enhanced all previous capabilities, including:

• Over 7,000 content pages

• One off and subscription payments

• Directory functionality

• Advertising modules

• Lightweight CRM features including more than 1000 user data

After the migration, performance improved dramatically. Operational costs reduced significantly. In addition, we built new functionalities, including the ability for the client to create their own event landing pages. Previously, they had been paying substantial licence fees to a third party platform that delivered poor performance. On top of that, the ease of use, fresh look & feel made daily management for our client much easier. The reduction in operational costs alone justified the investment for our client.

Remember, over 40% of websites in the world are built on WordPress, while more than 75% use some kind of traditional or headless CMS (like Drupal). Never underestimate the power of the traditional CMS platforms, even BBC used WordPress until 2013. Being on a traditional CMS, and sometimes even a legacy CMS, is a very common problem for media companies facing scaling, cost, and performance challenges. If you are one of them, please book a call with us, let’s get that problem sorted for good.

Case Study #2 – Exiting from Directus to No CMS At All

One of our clients, for whom we built a bespoke CRM and Customer Portal application, requested to replace their existing WordPress website with a new one reflecting their branding. They also wanted the website to work seamlessly with the CRM and Customer Portal.

The client needed to update content and articles frequently, and the CAPEX budget was not high enough to build a custom CMS. This is why we decided to go ahead with a headless CMS, selecting Directus, which would be relatively easier for the client to use.

After the build and some time had passed, the client no longer required frequent changes to the website and preferred us to make updates. However, there was an additional monthly hosting cost, and the website was slightly slower than our standards, as is common with many CMS products. The client never complained, but given the new circumstances, we knew the website could be improved. We decided to completely change the approach, as the current architecture was no longer the right fit. We exited from Directus. As a result, website performance improved and costs decreased.

Sometimes, you don’t need a CMS. Building and maintaining websites using CMS platforms comes with extra costs, and both traditional and some headless CMS options can impact performance.

Case Study #3 – Fully Bespoke CMS from Day One

At DoganTech, we have a passion project. We wanted to build a platform for UK service providers like us, a hub where they can access knowledge, promote their businesses, and share insights. That’s why we founded our media platform, ServeScope – UK Service Business Knowledge Hub and Directory. It’s a new site, but it is growing rapidly and will continue to evolve with new features over time.

For this platform, we needed full flexibility. We are open to growth, change, and adding new features based on demand. We also needed a fast, high-performing, easy-to-update, and consistent site. This is why we opted for a fully bespoke solution and built our own CMS for the Article and Directory features. As we mentioned in Case Study #1, for media platforms aiming to scale, it is generally best to go with a fully bespoke solution, so we applied the same approach for ourselves.

Case Study #4 – Do It Yourself with Shopify

A few years ago, we provided technology consulting to a client in the jewellery sector who wanted to launch an ecommerce business. The client had initially worked with a freelance developer for approximately 1.5 years on a WordPress website. The site was incomplete, barely functional and they had already missed one Valentine’s Day sales period, with another at risk.

The client also lacked confidence using the WordPress dashboard. Let’s be honest, Wordpress has a legacy look and can be complicated for new users. So why keep the client on WordPress when there are better alternatives After reviewing their situation, we recommended building on Shopify instead of trying to continue with WordPress. Shopify is purpose-built for e-commerce, user-friendly, quick to deploy, and commercially focused.

As a Shopify Partner, we provided two hours of structured training, enabling the client to build and manage the platform independently.

The result was an amazing, polished, and professional-looking fully set-up Shopify website. The client did an impressive job with a tool they had just learned. This success was due to two reasons:

1. Their ambition and hard work to start their business.

2. Choosing the platform that was the best fit for them.

And the good news? They didn’t miss the Valentine’s Day sales.

Case Study #5 – Switching from WordPress to Contentful

We are concluding our case studies with our own agency website. Years ago, at the initial stage of our business, we needed to get a website up quickly to kickstart operations. Back then, as DoganTech, we chose WordPress because it was easy to set up and simple to train non-technical team members to update content and add new pages. For a couple of years, it generally worked well for us, but there were disadvantages, such as site speed, hosting costs, time spent maintaining consistency and a polished look, and too many plugins to manage. In addition, during those two years, many new software development technologies either emerged or significantly improved, prompting us to reevaluate our choice.

During that time, we were also considering changes to our branding and site structure as the business evolved. While implementing those major changes, and taking advantage of the enhanced technologies available, we decided to migrate. We built a bespoke website with a headless CMS called Contentful for all our pages and completed the development.

We’ve been using Contentful for over three years now and have experienced many advantages. Although it requires users to be a bit more tech-savvy to add content, it is still possible to manage content without relying on a technical team. Unlike many traditional and headless CMS platforms, site speed can reach 99–100% when using Contentful like a fully bespoke solution. Additionally, Contentful has a generous free tier that helps lower database costs for SMBs. We’ve not only used Contentful for our own website, but also for clients who need websites or user guides for their applications. It works seamlessly, performs reliably, and is cost-effective.

So, what’s next for our website? We plan to update it, refine our branding, improve the layout, and polish the overall look and feel. Will we continue using Contentful? Possibly, it’s still viable, works well, and is cost-effective. However, as new technologies emerge, AI continues to improve, and our business evolves, we may consider building a fully bespoke solution to gain full flexibility and control. We enjoy change, so we’ll see.

As we mention in our article “What is a Content Management System (CMS)? Choosing the Right Technology for Your Website”, we generally recommend that businesses reevaluate their software products every 3–5 years. New technologies or changing business requirements may make better solutions available. In our case, each solution we used worked for its time, but we never stop looking for better alternatives.

Final Words

From the case studies, it is clear that selecting the right content management system can significantly enhance the overall experience. In addition, what was the right choice back then may not be the right choice today. Sometimes this is due to changes in business needs, and sometimes it is because of the rapid development of technology (especially with AI) bringing new solutions and options.

At DoganTech, we know there is no single one-size-fits-all solution for all businesses; every company’s needs are different. A one-on-one discussion to understand your business is invaluable in selecting the right CMS. If you haven’t already, check out our Content Management System Article where we introduce different types of CMS and explain which scenarios they work best for.

If you need help, feel free to book a free 30-minute consulting session with us.